Hazardous material shipping pallet

Abstract

A reusable portable platform which can serve as a shipping pallet and as secondary containment for 55-gallon drums during transit or storage. The containment is fabricated to withstand the corrosiveness of hazardous materials. The upper surface is removable to allow inspection and cleaning of the container's interior. The footed portion provides support and allows the empty platforms to be stacked and moved via a fork-lift.

We claim: 
     
       1. A reusable shipping pallet comprising: a substantially rectangular leak-proof container comprising: (1) a substantially planar base;   (2) side walls upwardly extending perpendicularly upward;     a rigid support member fixedly mounted to the bottom surface of said container;   an internal load bearing rail fixedly mounted to the upper-most surface of the inside of said container;   a removeable platform   positioned on said internal load bearing rail.   
     
     
       2. The pallet as recited in claim 1 wherein said platform has a non-skid surface. 
     
     
       3. The pallet as recited in claim 2 wherein said platform is 3/4 inch plywood. 
     
     
       4. The pallet as recited in claim 3 wherein three load bearing rails are positioned in said container, perpendicular to said support members. 
     
     
       5. The pallet as recited in claim 4 wherein said container is corrosion resistive. 
     
     
       6. A reusable shipping pallet comprising: a substantially planar base unitarily formed with a first pair of upwardly extending side walls;   a pair of rigid support members unitarily formed with a second pair of upwardly extending side walls;   a center support member fixedly mounted to the bottommost surface of said planar base;   a plurality of load bearing rails;   wherein said second pair of side walls mate with said first pair of side walls forming a substantially rectangular open container such that said container is leakproof;   removeable platform with a drainage means providing drainage to the inside of said container;   plurality of said rails are physically mounted to the upper-most surface of said container perpendicular to said support members and said platform is positioned on the uppermost surface of said rails.   
     
     
       7. The pallet as recited in claim 6 wherein said platform has a non-skid surface. 
     
     
       8. The pallet as recited in claim 7 wherein said platform is 3/4 inch plywood. 
     
     
       9. The pallet as recited in claim 8 wherein said container is carbon steel. 
     
     
       10. The pallet as recited in claim 9 wherein said container is corrosion resistive. 
     
     
       11. A reusable shipping and storage pallet and secondary container comprising: a planar base unitarily formed with a first pair of opposed perpendicular upwardly extending side walls;   an end support member unitarily formed with an upwardly extending side wall with an inwardly extending alignment lip;   a center support member parallel to said end support member and fixedly mounted to the bottom-most surface of said planar base;   a load bearing rail with a pair of outwardly extended flanges;   a platform with a uniform drainage means;   whereby a pair of said end supports forming a second pair of side walls are opposingly mated with said planar base and said first pair of side walls such that the inner-most surface of said alignment lip rests on the outer-most surface of said first pair of side walls, thus forming a substantially squared open container;   and with a plurality of said load bearing rails such that the bottom-most surface of one of the said pair of flanges is fixedly mounted to the upper-most surface of said container;   and said platform is positioned on the upper-most surface of the other one of said pair of flanges.   
     
     
       12. The pallet as recited in claim 11 wherein the edge-most surface of said planar base with said first pair of side walls is fixedly fastened by a full seam weld to the inner-most surfaces of the second pair of side walls and said end support members, thereby rendering resultant container leak proof. 
     
     
       13. The pallet as recited in claim 12 wherein the remaining seams of said container are fixedly fastened by a stitch weld. 
     
     
       14. The pallet as recited in claim 13 wherein said container is formed from a noncorrosive metallic material selected from the group consisting of carbon steel and stainless steel. 
     
     
       15. The pallet as recited in claim 14 wherein said plurality of said load bearing rails are fixedly mounted within said container perpendicular to said support members. 
     
     
       16. The pallet as recited in claim 15 wherein said platform has a nonskid surface. 
     
     
       17. The pallet as recited in claim 16 wherein said platform is removable. 
     
     
       18. The pallet as recited in claim 17 wherein said platform is 3/4 inch plywood.